LE MANS, France (Reuters) – VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi produced a battling display at the French GP on Sunday to record his second win of the season and slash fellow Italian Francesco Bagnaia’s championship lead.
Saturday’s sprint winner Jorge Martin finished second, just over four seconds behind the winner, while Martin’s Pramac Ducati team mate Johann Zarco was third to give the French fans something to cheer about.
Reigning champion Bagnaia was competing with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales 22 laps from the end when contact on a risky overtaking move caused both riders to crash out of the race.
Tempers flared and Vinales confronted the championship leader and shoved him before the pair were separated.
On the same lap, Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez and Luca Marini of VR46 Ducati were involved in a crash, with Marquez emerging unscathed despite landing in the middle of the track.
Six-times world champion Marc Marquez looked on course for a second-placed finish, but crashed out after a mistake with two laps to go.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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